It's always the same once Grafite has found the back of the net. He kisses the tattoo on his right forearm, then he points to the sky.
And that's exactly what he did after scoring the last goal of Wolfsburg's 4-1 win over Bielefeld on October 18th.
Afterwards, however, he had to ask coach Felix Magath for a few days off. The physical condition of his father was going down rapidly.
Magath allowed Grafite to travel to Brazil, where his father died on the night of October 19th.
Quick return
Grafite returned to Germany three days later. He wanted to be involved in Wolfsburg's away match at FC Bayern.
“These days will always stay in my head, but I have to move on now”, Grafite said. He even opened the scoring for Wolfsburg in the Allianz Arena, but Bayern went on to win 4-2.
This time, his goal celebration was for a single person only. “The goal was for my dad”, Grafite explained and added: “It was important for me to play. My father is with God now. I have to hold my head up high, life goes on.”
First-ever Bundesliga hat-trick
And he certainly held his head up high. He added another goal against Mönchengladbach (3-0) before scoring his first-ever Bundesliga hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Energie Cottbus.
Magath praised the Brazilian after his heroics: “He always goes directly for goal. That suits our game and makes him so important for us.”
The bundesliga.de stats underline Grafite's importance for the “Wolves”. He has scored twelve goals in 13 competitive games this season, and eight of those handed Wolfsburg the lead.
Six out of six pens
His record from the penalty spot is nothing short of perfect. He has scored four out of four this season and six out of six in his Bundesliga career.
“I am confident, and I have taken a lot of penalties in my career. I look at the goalkeeper, then I choose a corner. It doesn't matter if I was fouled or a team-mate”, Grafite says.
Crunch time
Edinaldo Batista Libanio — that's Grafite's full name — has high goals with Wolfsburg. “I wanted to develop alongside the club, and want to help keeping VfL near the top of the table with my goals”, Grafite told bundesliga.de.
Regarding that, it's time to deliver next Saturday. Wolfsburg play Hoffenheim away, and a defeat would leave the “Wolves” nine points adrift.
Michael Reis / Translation: Christof Greiner
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